1. Field of Invention
The subject matter described in this specification relates to foot operated control systems for musical instruments. More specifically, said subject matter relates to foot pedals and related methods used to alter sound parameters of the audio signal output by a musical instrument.
2. Description of Related Art
Guitar effects pedals or “stompboxes” are foot operated effects units that are commonly used for enhancing and manipulating audio signals produced by electric guitars. Basic stompboxes comprise: a single footswitch; one to three rotary potentiometers for controlling the effect, gain or tone of the electric guitar; and, usually, an LED display to indicate whether the effect is on or off. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. D504,458 (issued Apr. 26, 2005) by Edwards and U.S. Pat. No. D561,241 (issued Feb. 5, 2008) by Ridinqer. More complex stompboxes can feature a plurality of footswitches or more than three potentiometers or other effects controls. See, e.g., U.S. Pub. App. Ser. No. 2008/0173164 (published Jul. 24, 2008) by Francis et al, U.S. Pat. No. 7,476,799 (issued Jan. 13, 2009) by Purchon et al, U.S. Pat. No. D400,560 (issued Nov. 3, 1998) by Ridinger. In operation, guitar effects pedals have been used to, among other things, produce distortion, cause delay, cause reverberation, and even cause volume adjustment of the sounds produced by electric guitars.
Known stompboxes are capable of producing a wide variety of effects depending on the position (i.e., configuration) of the potentiometers, wherein said effects are turned on or off (“bypass”) via the footswitch. However, the effects of current stompboxes are not capable of being varied during a musical performance since potentiometer controls are not foot-operated and, for guitar players, hands are not available for turning the potentiometers. In other words, the potentiometers of known stompboxes are set in one position without control the entire time operators of the stompboxes play musical instruments. In view of the foregoing, a need exists for stompboxes configured for easy and precise manipulation of the potentiometers' position so that effects produced by the stompbox can be varied hands-free during a musical performance.
Some have developed various types of stompboxes in an attempt to meet said need. For example, U.S. Pub. Pat. App. No. 2009/0199700 (published Aug. 13, 2009) by Goldstein discloses a stompbox wherein one of three rotary potentiometers is raised relative to the other two potentiometers and outfitted with a large disk or portion thereof (see FIG. 7c). In operation, the disk is capable of being manipulated by an operator whereby the associated potentiometer's position changes. Although Goldstein's stompbox enables manipulation of one potentiometer, the disk is not an ideal solution to the above need because said disk: (1) is operated with rotating motions, which are not as natural as forward-backward movements; and (2) extends into the vicinity of the footswitch whereby operation of the stompbox is obstructed. Furthermore, operation of the other potentiometers is not hands-free. Finally, potentiometers are fragile and not designed to withstand the body weight or potential force of a foot whereby Goldstein's potentiometer may easily sheer, bend or strip during use. Accordingly, a need still exists for stompboxes configured for easy and precise manipulation of the potentiometers' position so that effects produced by the stompbox can be varied hands-free during a musical performance.
Others have developed stompboxes configured for hands-free manipulation of potentiometers. One such stompbox is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,862 (issued Nov. 9, 1999) by Geier, Jr. Geier, Jr. discloses a stompbox having a built-in potentiometer coupled to a disk that is rotatable about a horizontal axis. The disk is centrally located on the stompbox, just in-front of the footswitch, wherein the disk is suitable for rotation by a foot. Despite having one foot controlled potentiometer, Geier, Jr.'s stompbox is not ideal because the location of the disk can result in inadvertent depression of the footswitch since the operator must step over the footswitch to operate the disk with his or her foot. In other words, operation of the disk requires concentrated aiming of the foot, which can result in a decrease in the quality of the operators musical performance. Furthermore, since the disk is centrally located, the same is difficult to replace when worn-down. Finally, operation of the other potentiometers is not hands-free. Therefore, a need still exists for stompboxes configured for easy and precise manipulation of the potentiometers' position so that effects produced by the stompbox can be varied hands-free during a musical performance.